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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: Newbie in SA on Tuesday 09 July 13 09:36 BST (UK)
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??? Good Morning Everyone
Good morning everyone
Please will someone put an end to a rather heated discussion that is fast developing regarding the sport that is played by the young men in the photo. The photo is of my father in what I believe is his matric year at Kilkenny College or perhaps shortly thereafter (circa 1939). I think they are playing field hockey, but a local historian, from Irish descent is adamant this a partial Hurling team!
Kind Regards
Vanessa
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Those aren't hurleys they are holding!
I would guess at shinty or hockey?
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Hi,
Compare with this photo from the same college, to me the sticks look completely different but I am no expert on either.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0v7h/
Sharon
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Having a re-think!
Shinty is played 12-a-side, and is a Scottish game.
The photo has 11 players - so almost certainly a hockey team.
Ireland has a long history of hockey, the Irish Hockey Union (for the men's game) being founded in 1886
A mention of Kilkenny:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~kilkennyhockey/history.html
Quote from that site: While most of the other teams struggled, Kilkenny grew. in part, this was due to the presence in the city of Kilkenny College, a stronghold of hockey in Leinster.
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I agree it's a hockey team; my father was an enthusiastic hockey player at that time. Interesting that it is seldom played by men nowadays.
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I agree it's a hockey team; my father was an enthusiastic hockey player at that time. Interesting that it is seldom played by men nowadays.
WOT?!?! Are you serious?
GB men won an Olympic Gold in recent years.
England men will be playing in the World League Semi-Finals later this month!
Men's clubs at Abergavenny, Aberystwyth, Brecon, Cardiff, Gwent, Llanishen & Caerphilly, Neath, Pembroke, Penarth, Swansea, Trinity St Davids (Lampeter) - to name just those in Wales!
As an added thought - Kilkenny College was essentially a Protestant College (although admitting other denominations).
Hurling is a Gaelic sport and, until a few years ago, predominantly Catholic!
I don't think the GAA allowed non-Catholics to take part?! :o
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Definitely not hurley - the sticks are quite different.
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"I think they are playing field hockey, but a local historian, from Irish descent is adamant this a partial Hurling team!"
Definitely a Hockey team. Not a Field Hockey team as this is an American name for the game because they insist on calling "Ice Hockey", Hockey.
As to it not being played by men, that is nonsense. Our local club , Reading, runs eleven men's teams and seven women's teams.
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Thank you .. Mike, KGarrad, Greensleeves, Sharon, Behindthefrogs!!!!
I knew I would get a definitive answer if I asked! - Now I can really go in with gun blazing! 8)
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Now I can really go in with gun blazing! 8)
Isn't that a little extreme?
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;D All just friendly banter, I assure you! But nice that I can be in the right every now and again..
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My father in law Christy Coleman was a championship hurling player in the late 1920's and 30's in County Clare.
Here is a picture of him and his team with their 'stick's,which seem to have much wider ends than hockey sticks.
Carol
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I do believe Hurling is the world's fastest field team game! Thank you for the visual comparison, VERY different for sure!
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I'm somewhat of a sports nut - and I was watching the Kilkenny v Tipperary All-Ireland Hurling, Qualifiers Phase II match last Saturday! (in an Irish bar, of course!)
And next Saturday I will be watching the Kilkenny v Waterford, Phase 3, match ;D
So I was fully aware that the team in the photo were not a hurling team.
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I do believe Hurling is the world's fastest field team game! Thank you for the visual comparison, VERY different for sure!
Shinty's fast too. I used to watch it in the Highlands. It's similar to hockey, of course, but you can swing your stick as high as you like, whereas in hockey you have to keep it below shoulder height. You could always tell the hockey players at a shinty match, going in for a tackle with their heads bent over forwards instead of backwards - nasty!
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Shinty tackle
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And a hockey tackle.
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I am from South Africa and until now had never heard of Hurling or Shinty .. We out in the bundu's play Hockey.. I am so grateful for the experts on Rootschat, can you imagine showing off in my family history book that my father played Hurling just for someone to point out it is Hockey? Epic fail!
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Wow, the Shinty stick does resemble the vintage hockey stick ..
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And a Hurling tackle!
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Shinty in Scotland, Hurley in Ireland, the same game once but diverged from each other over time. A game played in Legends so very old at least two thousand years. Fasted game in the world on grass.
http://www.crokepark.ie/getmedia/46a5d28d-258d-448e-96ae-5e97b12751df/The-Legend-of-Cu-Chulainn.pdf
Other games derived from Hurley/Shinty are golf, hockey and believe it or not tennis.
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As a throw away comment, it is interesting that my farther became an excellent golfer in later years. Playing off a 5/6 handicap, so perhaps his early training in hockey assisted a little!